DHR registered 19 new cases of enforced disappearances over the last year out of the total 5 were released while one case reported of extrajudicial killing in detention & one reported to be traced in an internment center: Report 2024

ISLAMABAD, Dec 30 (SABAH): In the past year, Defence of Human Rights (DHR) has set its goal to protect and promote fundamental rights by addressing cases of enforced disappearances and advocating for policy reform. DHR registered 19 new cases of enforced disappearances over the last year out of the total 5 were released and were reunited with their loved ones.

One case reported of extrajudicial killing in detention and one reported to be traced in an internment center. Furthermore, DHR sent 42 cases to the UN WGEID and 3 urgent actions for the recent cases of enforced disappearances. Our organization filed a joint petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, making it a holistic issue of the country, where citizens are abducted and disappeared for years.

DHR attached an annex of 1384 still disappeared cases in the joint petition. Also, 13 new cases of enforced disappearances, utilizing habeas petitions and contempt proceedings against the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CoIoED) were filed in the different High Courts of the country. Alongside legal action, DHR provided psychosocial support to 70 families affected by these incidents, acknowledging the profound emotional toll on survivors and their loved ones, especially children of the disappeared.

To further our reach and gather firsthand accounts, DHR conducted field visits in Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Peshawar, and Mardan. We also held consultation meetings—both in Karachi and online—to collaborate with civil society, activists, lawyers and other stakeholders. In response to the government’s announcement of a relief package, we organized a media press conference to ensure the voices of victim families were heard. Our advocacy efforts continued through one major protest on the International Day of the Disappeared (August 30, 2024) and four additional demonstrations highlighting recent disappearances, including those of Ahmed Farhad, Raja Mudassir, several Kashmiris, and the journalist Mudassir Naaru.

DHR also strengthened its international partnerships by engaging with the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), discussing the importance of Pakistan ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED). Over the course of the year, we issued more than 20 public statements addressing human rights violations such as curbing dissent, restricting freedom of speech and assembly, and introducing laws that legalize Enforced Disappearances and threaten democracy.